The invention relates to communications network services. More particularly the invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a hold termination message service in a communications network.
When talking on the telephone, one party (the xe2x80x9chold initiatingxe2x80x9d party) will sometimes find it necessary to place another party (the xe2x80x9choldingxe2x80x9d party) xe2x80x9con-hold.xe2x80x9d This may occur for example, when the hold initiating party is a call waiting subscriber who decides to answer a second incoming telephone call. If the hold initiating party has several telephone lines, they might place a call on-hold in order to answer a call received on another line. The hold initiating party might place a telephone call on-hold for any number of reasons, such as the need to take care of other business.
While on-hold, there is no way for the holding party to communicate with the hold initiating party. This situation can become frustrating for the holding party, especially as the length of time they are waiting on-hold increases. Additionally, the holding party may find that they also need to answer a second telephone line, or attend to some other business. If the holding party is using a wireless telephone service, such as a cellular phone, the on-hold experience can become not only frustrating, but expensive. Thus, a holding party may wish to terminate the telephone call without waiting for the hold initiating party to return to the call. Similarly, a holding party using a cellular phone may sense they are about to leave the cellular service area, such as by entering a tunnel.
However, because the holding party is not able to communicate with the hold initiating party, there is no satisfactory way for the holding party to terminate the telephone call. A holding party might worry about appearing rude if they decide to simply xe2x80x9chang upxe2x80x9d and terminate the telephone call. Moreover, the hold initiating party may assume there has been a technical problem resulting in an inadvertent disconnection when they return to the call and find it has been terminated. A holding party might also want to arrange to have the hold initiating party call back at a different time and/or at a different telephone number.
Finally, any system that allows a holding party to terminate an on-hold telephone call without simply hanging up should be implemented at the communications network level instead of at the customer premises. Some systems, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,587 to Forbes, issued, Mar. 26, 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,551 to Katz, issued May 30, 1989, utilize special equipment installed at the customer premises. Because the situation does not occur frequently, it is not practical to expect that consumers will purchase or install a special device to handle being placed on-hold. Moreover, it is not likely that such a device would be carried around and used with cellular phones.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for a method and apparatus to provide a hold termination service in a communications network that allows a holding party to terminate a telephone call without simply hanging up, and solving the other problems discussed above.
The disadvantages of the art are alleviated to a great extent by a method and apparatus for providing a hold termination message service in a communications network. An on-hold telephone call between a hold initiating party and a holding party is monitored at a network node for a hold termination signal, such as a DTMF signal, from the holding party. A hold termination message can be recorded when the hold termination signal is detected. The hold termination message is then delivered from the network node to the hold initiating party.